China's top paper says U.S. forcing China to accelerate South China Sea deployments

FILE PHOTO - Chinese official prepares the flags for the China-USA bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Hamburg, Germany July 8, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top newspaper, decrying Washington as a trouble-maker, said on Monday U.S. moves in the South China Sea like last week's freedom of navigation operation will only cause China to strengthen its deployments in the disputed waterway.

China's foreign ministry said the USS Hopper, a destroyer, came within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan island, which is better known as the Scarborough Shoal and is subject to a rival claim by the Philippines, a historic ally of the United States.